December 28, 2016

Over the past few years a new genre of music has emerged.
Call it Swamp Rock, Country Rock, Hick Hop or Alt Bluegrass, this style of
music combines different rhythms with traditional bluegrass and country
instruments.CSS Music has created a
number of these styled tracks--if you’re producing an outdoor or male-centric
show or just want to add ear candy to perk up a scene, you might find this
music is exactly what you’re after!

You may wonder why we don’t group this style into a County
sub category. After all, aren’t the instruments in Swamp music extensively used
in Country? Yes and no. We view Country—no matter what the subcategory—to be
more melodic, evoke emotion and generally develop thematically throughout the
track. Swamp on the other hand, is just there for groove. It’s more attitude
than music.

If you go to the CSS Music Hand Picked Genres on our
homepage and select Rock (Swamp-Southern Edge-Rural Rebellion) you’ll be
treated to 123 of these specialty tracks from our library. Notice that the
first track, “Swampbilly”(Super Themes 71) melds a country rock guitar lick
with an electronic hip hop groove. Can you picture a couple good ol’ boys
trying to get their 4-wheeler out of the mud? Very atmospheric.

The genre of Swamp actually borrows from many iconic styles
like hip hop, blues and funk. And the vibe is something all its own. Audition a
few of these CSS Music Southern flavored tracks and imagine them in your next
show. Til then, happy producin’ y’all!

December 21, 2016

At CSS Music we often are asked for tracks that are “dark.”
But what exactly does this mean? Are you after end-of-the-world doom and gloom?
A lonely scene with lots of emotion? Or perhaps you need a thematic to explore
a highly troubled character? The shades of “dark” are quite varied and we try
to provide you with subdivisions of this generic description.

Try this: use the CSS Music Keywords drop down menu. Make
your first selection (A-G) Dark and
then choose Heroic from the H-Q
menu. You’ll see the first track is titled “Dark Hero” (Super Themes 73)
followed by “Fighting Evil” (Super Themes 76) and then two more pages of
similar tracks of this styles.

But if you try another search again using Dark (A-G) and Sad (R-Z) you’ll find tracks like “Dramatic Change Question”
(Project Platinum 16) and “Listen To My Story” (Target Tracks 50) that while
“dark” they offer a more emotional, lonely and forlorn vibe. You will also
notice a glimmer of hope in the music which differs from other dark tracks.

If you’re looking for dark action, try the same Dark (A-G) with Sports (R-Z) and you’ll have six pages with a potpourri of powerful
music that runs the gamut from orchestral to dubstep.

And don’t forget to audition the “Emotions (Dark Side)” that
features 252 tracks of our favorites from our CSS Music Hand Picked Genres.
When you need dark music, look to us to make your real sad! J

December 14, 2016

One of the directives at CSS Music is to follow the slogans
of Austin, TX and Portland, OR: “Keep It Weird.” While many of our composers
would love to get their creative fix creating disc after disc of the strange
and bizarre, we must reign in this desire…most of the time. But when these
talented people do let loose with the unusual, outré music is born.

If you’re looking solely for film music with that peculiar,
something’s-not-right feeling, “Strange Cinema” (Super Themes Vl. 1) might be
ideal. And if you audition the large selection of Super Themes film discs,
you’ll find a number of unique and unusual film score tracks.

You never know when you might want to try music that’s
definitely strange. And we at CSS Music will continue to Keep It Weird for just
those special occasions!

December 09, 2016

Ask even a Millennial: What music makes you feel good? We’ll
wager they’ll mention music from a bygone era. Be it Doo Wop, British Invasion,
Southern Rock, 70’s Soft Rock or the electronic and danceable sounds of The
80’s, music from these earlier eras seem to bring listeners either a nostalgic
feeling (for us oldsters) or a simple, happy sound for those who are hearing
older music for the first time.

For you guys/gals producing shows every day, you might
consider tapping into this vein of “Gold” to underscore a special scene in your
next show. CSS Music has a number of retro tracks in our BackTrax library or you
click on Rock (Oldies) or Rock (Pop/Clasic) on our Hand Picked Genre homepage
to hear the cream of the crop.

An idea: you get your show’s personalities to individually
dance to a track like “Running Around With Sue” (BackTrax Volume 2). Then you
edit a montage to the music, apply a 50’s television effect to the video and
voíla! Instant fun for everyone, especially your viewers! Double especially fun
if they’re terrible dancers!

Of course hot rod shows and male-centric programs are great
for good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n roll. A track like “Rock Me Right” (Super
Themes, Volume 65) is so universal in its appeal with its retro vibe I-IV-V
chord progression and solid beat that it could sync perfectly under any number
of scenes.

If you want a Feel-alike of Bill Hailey’s famous rock ‘n
roll classic, there’s “Blues Around The Clock” (Super Themes, Volume 29),
“Rockabilly Rocket” (Super Themes, Volume 8) and “Roll Around the Clock.
(BackTrax Volume 2) When it comes to Oldies, look to the young bucks of CSS
Music!

December 03, 2016

Remember when you really couldn’t underscore a morning
outdoor nature scene without hearing a flute trill? J Composers most likely thought
of the opening stanza from Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” that was used
extensively for morning scenes in film and cartoons. In fact, for years the
flute has defined nature music due to its bird-like sound and light, lilting
nature.

Today, a solo dobro slide, fiddle crescendo or arpeggiated
acoustic guitar chord can underscore the sun rising on an outdoor morning
scene. And these instruments are much more in “tune” with the popular sound of
roots music today from the likes of Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers.

At CSS Music we continue to add the contemporary styles that
serve contemporary nature scenes so perfectly. Review our exceptional Super
Themes library and you’ll find an entire CD (Volume 9 Nature Sphere) devoted
exclusively to the nature genre. There are also solo guitar, bluegrass and
“Swampabilly Rockers” volumes that will serve you well from Super Themes.

When you need a terrific “bad weather is coming” track, we
highly suggest “Dark Swamp Adventure” on PowerTrax Volume 31. This track is
structured similarly to a movie trailer with beginning, middle and finale. CSS
Music has beefed up our roots-based music selection with a number of new
volumes this year. Click on Nature (Outdoors & Environments) to audition
some of the creative and varied tracks in this category.

What’s that? You’re doing a tongue-in-cheek outdoor morning
scene and you DO want that opening from the “William Tell Overture?” No
problem! Simply scroll down the CSS Music/Zero Fee Music home page to
Build-A-Search and type in “Rossini.” You’ll find both sections of this
classical masterpiece in our Digital Ditties library!